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MEDICAL EDUCATION CREDENTIALS
An international medical graduate must have had at least four credit years (academic years for which credit has been given toward completion of the medical curriculum) in attendance at a medical school that is listed in the International Medical Education Directory (IMED) of the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER). The physician's graduation year must be included in the medical school's IMED listing. The FAIMER IMED contains information supplied by countries about their medical schools. FAIMER is not an accrediting agency.
NOTE REGARDING INELIGIBLE PRACTITIONERS: Graduates licensed only in stomatology, ayurvedic or homeopathic medicine, or those awarded only the diploma of Physician-Epidemiologist-Hygienist, Physician-Biochemist, Physician-Cyberneticist, Physician-Biophysicist, Licensed Medical Practitioner, or Assistant Medical Practitioner are not eligible for admission to the exams or for ECFMG Certification.
Applicants for ECFMG Certification must document the completion of all requirements for, and receipt of, the final medical diploma. ECFMG verifies every applicant's medical school diploma with the appropriate officials of the medical school that issued the diploma. An applicant's credentials are not considered complete until ECFMG receives such verification directly from the medical school.
Effective February 1, 2004, there will be an additional medical education credential requirement for a medical school graduate to receive a Standard ECFMG Certificate. In addition to submitting copies of the final medical diploma, medical school graduates will be required to submit copies of their final medical school transcript. Like the medical diploma, all transcripts will be verified directly with the medical schools that issued them, and medical education credential requirements will not be considered complete until ECFMG receives verification directly from the medical school.
Provision of Credentials and Translations
Credentials for ECFMG Certification
You must send two photocopies of your final medical school diploma to ECFMG. The exact name of the final medical diploma you must provide is listed in the Reference Guide for Medical Education Credentials. The Reference Guide lists these medical credential qualifications by country of medical school. Although this Reference Guide is based upon information that was current at the time of publication, this information is subject to change.
Effective February 1, 2004, applicants for ECFMG Certification must also submit two photocopies of the final medical school transcript. For more information on what constitutes a final medical school transcript, refer to Frequently-Asked Questions, number 21.
The photocopies of your medical diploma and transcript must be 216 mm x 279 mm (8½ in x 11 in). If these documents are larger than 216 mm x 279 mm (8½ in x 11 in), you must obtain reduced photocopies that are 216 mm x 279 mm (8½ in x 11 in) and send the reduced photocopies to ECFMG. You should not submit these documents by fax only. You must send photocopies to ECFMG by mail or courier service.
The following table summarizes the medical education credential requirements to receive a Standard ECFMG Certificate both prior to and on / after February 1, 2004.
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CREDENTIALS REQUIRED FOR A GRADUATE TO RECEIVE |
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| Through January 31, 2004 | Effective February 1, 2004 |
| Complete medical school curriculum of at least 4 years' duration | Complete medical school curriculum of at least 4 years' duration |
| Medical school and graduation year listed in International Medical Education Directory | Medical school and graduation year listed in International Medical Education Directory |
| Submit final medical diploma | Submit final medical diploma and final medical school transcript |
| ECFMG verifies final medical diploma directly with medical school | ECFMG verifies final medical diploma and final medical school transcript directly with medical school |
You must submit the copies of the final medical diploma and final medical school transcript, in the original language, containing the issue date and all of the appropriate signatures of the medical school and / or university officials. Documents that are not in English must be accompanied by an official English translation. (See English Translations.)
ECFMG will not accept a copy of a medical diploma or transcript that is not in English without an official English translation. Likewise, ECFMG will not accept an English translation of a diploma or transcript without a copy of the original language document from which the English translation was prepared. (See English Translations.)
The name on your medical diploma and transcript must match exactly the name in your ECFMG record. If the names do not match exactly, you must submit legal documentation that verifies the name on your medical diploma / transcript is (or was) your name. (See Name of Applicant and Changing or Verifying Your Name.)
An example of a discrepancy between the name in your ECFMG record and the name on your medical diploma / transcript would be if your ECFMG record lists your married name, but your medical diploma / transcript lists your maiden name.
Examples of a discrepancy include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Use of initials for the first or last (surname) on the medical diploma / transcript
EXAMPLE: "Mary Smith" in your ECFMG record, but "M. Smith" or "Mary S." on your medical diploma / transcript.
- Difference in the sequence of names
EXAMPLE: "John James Clark" in your ECFMG record, but "James John Clark" or "Clark James John" on your medical diploma / transcript.
- Hyphenations and Separations in names
EXAMPLE: "Alice Al Quigley" in your ECFMG record, but "Alice Al-Quigley" or "Alice Alquigley" on your medical diploma / transcript.
You must send two full-face photographs with the copies of your credentials. One photograph must accompany the copies of your diploma; a second photograph must accompany the copies of your transcript. The photographs that you send must be current; they must have been taken within six months of the date that you send them. A photocopy of a photograph is not acceptable.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Submitting altered or falsified documents to ECFMG may be sufficient cause for ECFMG to bar you from the exam, to terminate your participation in the exam, to withhold and / or invalidate the results of your exam, to withhold a certificate, revoke a certificate or to take other appropriate action. ECFMG may also report instances of altered or falsified documents to the USMLE Committee on Irregular Behavior, FSMB Board Action Databank, state medical licensing authorities, and directors of graduate medical education programs or to any other organization or individual who, in the judgment of ECFMG, has a legitimate interest in such information.
In all cases when the ECFMG Committee on Medical Education Credentials or the CSA Committee on Irregular Behavior has taken an action with respect to an examinee, an annotation will be included in the ECFMG Status Report and ECFMG Certification Verification Service (CVS) Report.
Representative Examples of Irregular Behavior
Credentials for Exam Registration
If you are a medical school graduate, you must send the copies of your medical diploma and the current photograph with your application for examination (if you have not submitted your diploma and photograph to ECFMG previously). If your medical diploma has not yet been issued, you must send with the application a current photograph and a letter signed by your Medical School Dean, Vice Dean, or Registrar that confirms you graduated from medical school, have met all requirements to receive your medical diploma, and states the date (month and year) that your medical diploma will be issued. If you apply on-line, you must submit these items with your completed Certification Statement. You must then send the photocopies of your diploma to ECFMG as soon as the diploma is issued. Although you are not required to submit your final medical school transcript at the time of application, you should also send two photocopies of your final medical school transcript and a second photograph with your application, or as soon as possible, since the final medical school transcript becomes an additional requirement for ECFMG Certification effective February 1, 2004. (See Credentials for ECFMG Certification.)
If you graduated from medical school and do not submit your medical diploma or a letter from your medical school, as described above, and this documentation has not been received previously by ECFMG, your application will be rejected.
If the name on your diploma does not match the name in your ECFMG record and you do not submit acceptable legal documentation, your application will be rejected. (See Name of Applicant and Changing or Verifying Your Name.)
If you are a medical school student, you should send the copies of your medical diploma, transcript, and current photographs to ECFMG as soon as you graduate and receive these documents. (See Credentials for ECFMG Certification.)
If your credentials are complete, you are generally not required to resend these documents when you apply for subsequent exams. After receiving your medical diploma and transcript, ECFMG will write to you to acknowledge receipt and to advise if additional credentials are required.
You can check the status of your medical education credentials on-line using OASIS. If you have questions or concerns about your credentials, you can contact ECFMG by e-mail at credentials@ecfmg.org or by telephone or fax (see General Inquiries).
English Translations
All documents that are not in English must be accompanied by English translations. The translation must be prepared by and certified to be correct by a government official, medical school official, or recognized translation service. The translation must appear on official stationery, must identify the translator, and must bear the signature of the official or representative of the translation service. A copy of the document from which the translation was made must accompany the translation.
Verification of Credentials
ECFMG verifies every applicant's medical school diploma and final medical school transcript with the appropriate officials of the medical school that issued the diploma and transcript. You will not fulfill the ECFMG medical education credential requirements until such verification is received directly from your medical school and accepted by ECFMG.
In some instances, the verification process can be lengthy due to the processing time required by the institutions and prevailing postal conditions. ECFMG will write to you to advise when your diploma and transcript are sent to your medical school for verification. If ECFMG does not receive a response from your medical school within the anticipated time period, ECFMG will send subsequent verification requests to your medical school. ECFMG will notify you when it sends these subsequent requests. ECFMG will also notify you after receiving the verification from your medical school.
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Copyright © 2003 by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates. All rights reserved.
Portions reprinted, with permission, from the USMLE 2004 Bulletin of Information. Copyright © 2003 by the Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States, Inc., and the National Board of Medical Examiners® (NBME®).